So he prayed for my forgiveness, and I said to him, “You are my brother; do not leave me.” Yet he slipped away from me (1), and afterwards I was told that he had come to you in Kufa.

Now a man in Kufa who used to mock and belittle Uways began to say, “This fellow is not one of us; we do not even know him.” ʿUmar replied, “Indeed he is a man of such-and-such qualities.” The man—still trying to minimize his standing—said, “There is a man among us, O Commander of the Believers, called Uways.” ʿUmar said, “Go and catch up with him; I doubt you will overtake him.”

The man set off and reached Uways before he arrived at his own home. Uways said to him, “This is not your usual manner—what has prompted you?” He answered, “I heard ʿUmar speak of you in these terms, so ask Allah to forgive me.” Uways replied, “I will not do so until you pledge that you will never again mock me and that you will not tell anyone what you heard from ʿUmar.” He agreed, and so Uways prayed for his forgiveness.

Usayr went on: It was not long before news of him spread throughout Kufa. I went in to see him and said, “My brother, do you not see how highly people now regard you while we remained unaware?” He said, “There is nothing here that I could trade on before people, and every servant will be repaid only for his own deeds.” Then he slipped away from me and departed (2).

Through the same chain to Usayr ibn Jābir, he said: There was in Kufa a man who spoke words I had never heard anyone else utter; when I missed him, I asked about him, and they said, “That was Uways.” I followed directions to him, went to him, and asked, “What kept you from us?” He said, “Lack of clothing.” His companions used to mock him and harm him. I said, “Here is a cloak; take it.” He replied, “Do not—if I wear it they will bother me.” I persisted until he put it on; when he went out, they said, “Who do you think he tricked to get that cloak?” So he returned and set it down.

I went to them and said, “What do you want with this man? You have already hurt him enough. A person may be without clothes at one time and clothed at another.” And I rebuked them sharply with my tongue (3).